Here are five things you need to know this morning:
There is more evidence of sluggishness today in Canada’s real estate market: The latest figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show the total number of home sales fell 0.7 per cent month-over-month in July. The average selling price edged up by 0.1 per cent compared to June. Observers have been saying many Canadians have been waiting for additional interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada before making their home purchase.
Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank are paying multimillion-dollar penalties to settle charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: The charges are related to unapproved employee communication using personal messages and applications such as Whatsapp. TD will pay a penalty of US$46.5 million. RBC will pay $45 million. TD is also paying $78 million to settle charges with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over the same issue. In total, the SEC announced $393-million worth of settlements on Wednesday, affecting 26 companies.
Rogers Communications says Edward Rogers is becoming the company’s Executive Chair effective immediately: The company says Rogers will lead the development and review of the company’s long-term strategy for growth. Lead director Robert Gemmell says the appointment merely formalizes the role Rogers has already been performing at the company. The firm says Rogers’ appointment was unanimously confirmed at a board meeting in Calgary. Rogers was removed as chairman of the company in October 2021 amid a public battle for control of the company, and was reinstated the following month.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is calling for a federal ban on food and grocery price gouging as part of a broader set of proposals intended to reduce consumer costs: The Democratic nominee is promising to target price gouging and price-fixing within her first 100 days in office, along with other measures to ease the burden of high prices. Harris plans to direct the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and other agencies to investigate and penalize “big corporations” that violate the rules, and to find other ways of tackling price fixing and other anti-competitive practices in the food and grocery industries. The proposed ban is part of a broader economic policy platform that the Democratic presidential nominee plans to unveil Friday at a campaign rally in North Carolina. Here in Canada, the federal government has also been pressuring grocery companies to keep prices in check.
Grocery sales have boosted the latest results from Walmart: The American retail giant topped revenue and profit expectations in its latest quarter, and also raised its full-year sales and earnings forecasts. Its sales of general merchandise, which includes products like appliances and clothes, grew after 11 consecutive quarters of declines. Groceries make up roughly 60 per cent of Walmart’s U.S. sales, and have been one of the strongest parts of the company’s business. Walmart shares rose seven per cent in premarket trading in New York.
